


Lost and Found

by robinelgenubi



Category: Original Work
Genre: 1950s, AU of the real world, F/F, where homophobia just doesn't exist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-09-14 01:34:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16903614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robinelgenubi/pseuds/robinelgenubi
Summary: Nancy and Tess have known each other since kindergarten, and have been together for almost that long. This is the story of how they parted ways and found each other again.I wrote this way back in July and have been wanting to come back to it, so uh, I guess posting it here is me asking folks to hold me to that.





	Lost and Found

Nancy couldn’t say exactly when she fell for Tess. They’d known each other since Tess’ family had moved in next door when they were both five, and been virtually inseparable since then. Nancy remembered thinking at age seven that Tess would someday be a beautiful bride, and then feeling jealous of whoever was marrying her, and then deciding that she would have to marry Tess. Tessa remembered how Nancy would hold her hand while encouraging her to jump across a stream or scramble onto a log or walk past the intimidating older kids, and how holding Nancy’s hand made her so brave that she decided very early on she would have to keep Nancy nearby so she could be brave always.

It was the summer after high school graduation. Everybody knew they were going to be married, and the only question was who would propose, and whether they’d finish college first. Nancy wanted to be an engineer, and maybe work for the up-and-coming national space agency. Tessa wanted to be a school counselor and help young people find their way in life. 

Nancy slid into the booth across from Tessa and pushed a malt in her direction. The two of them sat silently for a while, sipping their milkshakes, fingers intertwined, feeling that everything was right with the world and consciously forgetting that something wasn’t.

Nancy’s family was moving away that fall. Her father was being promoted to branch manager and relocated to another city several states over. It wouldn’t have been a big deal except that the two were going to different colleges, and long-distance calls were expensive, and of course breaks had to be spent with family. 

“We can still write each other,” Tessa said at last. 

“Of course,” said Nancy, a bit distractedly.

Tessa bit her lip for a moment before speaking again. “What if—”

“It’s just not going to work,” Nancy interrupted. “You and I both know we’ll go insane if we can only communicate through letters. We won’t even have winter break together. I can’t go a whole year without seeing my girlfriend.”

Tessa gripped her hand tighter. “It’s fine. We can figure it out. What if I defer my enrollment? We could get married this summer. I can work while you’re in school, and then you can work while I’m in school.”

Nancy shook her head. “No. I don’t want you to have to wait four or five years or however long it takes me to graduate before you start working towards your dream. No,” she tensed up, “I think we should break up.” She stopped breathing for a moment and couldn’t lift her eyes from the table.


End file.
